This Sporting Life

An affinity between the sporting and the elegant now dominates the market for quality timepieces.

By

Ken Kessler

Updated Nov. 22, 2013 10:10 a.m. ET

ENLARGE

The 'sublime' Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso, from the Grande Reverso Ultra Thin (bottom) to the Lady Ultra Thin Duetto (top).
Dominic James for The Wall Street Journal, with thanks to Cowdray Park Polo

ASTAIRE AND ROGERS, gin and tonic, bagels and lox: some pairings are so close to perfection that they defy criticism. Although a more recent phenomenon than any of those, the affinity between the sporting and the elegant, as applied to watches, now dominates the market for quality timepieces.

Watches intended for sporting use have been around since wristwatches first appeared: the timepiece Louis Cartier devised at the behest of his Brazilian friend, pioneering aviator Alberto Santos-Dumont, around 1904, is accepted by many as the first-ever wristwatch in a modern sense. Given that it was created for what would have been a sporting situation—Santos-Dumont's early flights were the pursuits of a civilian adventurer—and considering that the watch was so handsome that it is still in production a century later, it could be regarded with much justification as the first elegant sporting watch.

Related Reading

Over the ensuing decades, a number of developments separated the wristwatch into genres. What emerged was a sense of occasion to match one's attire, still practiced today by many wearers: the well-dressed man or woman should own three watches—one for dress, one for work, and one for sport or leisure. But the lines were blurred. Arguably, the most sophisticated "sports" watch to emerge in the 1930s, which celebrated its 80th anniversary last year in the form of a near-exact replica of the original, is Jaeger-LeCoultre's sublime Reverso.

Ironically, the Reverso has become the exemplar of subtle, dressy elegance. Whenever Hollywood needs to portray a millionaire (or billionaire) with refined tastes, the Reverso is the default watch. From Pierce Brosnan's 1999 take on Thomas Crown, to the 21st-century Batman reboot, the Reverso has become shorthand for all things sophisticated and discerning. And yet the watch, with its distinctive flip-over case, was created for British troops in India, to ensure that the crystal would not break when its wearer was playing polo.

‘What occurred to combine the sporting and the elegant was an exact reversal of offering gold versions of practical watches.’

If the notion of "dressy sport watches" still seems oxymoronic, that is because the Reverso was the exception.

Rolex's Submariner, designed in 1953, concurrently with Blancpain's equally robust and similarly-equipped Fifty Fathoms, defined the diving watch. Imperviousness to moisture or pressure at depths exceeding those that the diver will attain, high legibility to ensure that its information can be read underwater, a rotating bezel to show the remaining time of a dive—purpose was all and there were no concessions to style.

So impressive and desirable were such watches, however, that Rolex, Blancpain and other manufacturers of pure diving watches, such as Omega with the Seamaster, eventually issued them in gold, or gold and steel. The demand was met as early as 1957-58, with solid-gold versions of the Rolex GMT-Master, a watch similar in form to the Submariner. But underneath, they remained macho, wholly-functional diving watches, merely gilded.

What occurred to combine the sporting and the elegant was an exact reversal of offering gold versions of practical watches. Emerging without warning were high-end watches made from stainless steel, rather than timekeeping "tools" dressed in precious metals. And it was Audemars Piguet that created the category 40 years ago.

Introducing the concept of a stainless-steel dress watch with inherent indestructibility was brave in 1972. Back then, clients for luxury timepieces tended toward the conservative, and "luxury watch" usually meant "dress watch," or, for the ladies, something paved with gems. The unlikely combination of a rugged steel wristwatch with a superior movement, from one of the industry's most revered houses, captured the attention of sportsmen, especially golfers and yachtsmen. It would also free women from wearing dainty, impractical watches regardless of the occasion.

A new genre was born, sired by Audemars Piguet's Royal Oak.

ENLARGE

The Audemars Piguet Royal Oak in stainless steel.
Audemars Piguet

Steel, chrome-plated brass and other base metals were in use from the wristwatch's early days. Dressy watches, too, were made with steel cases, if price was an issue, while all watches with a specific purpose were made from steel because it is, simply, a harder metal than gold. Steel offered an added bonus (for those of limited means desiring a watch with which to impress): in the right context, and from a meter away, only a jeweler can tell stainless steel from the precious "white metals," platinum or white gold.

As Audemars Piguet learned to its own surprise, a stainless-steel case was the element that would add a no-nonsense air to a watch priced for the luxury sector. It created a robust-yet-elegant look in a watch that could withstand anything, while still possessing true style.

After a shaky start—the shock to 1970s sensibilities was immediate—the Royal Oak found itself hailed as a must-own watch, especially for the aforementioned golfers and yachtsmen. Soon, wives and girlfriends and mistresses from Cap Ferrat to Cancun were "borrowing" their partners' Royal Oaks, and not giving them back. They dangled on the wrist with the insouciance of a bracelet rather than a watch. And one could dive straight into the pool or swan into a chic soirée wearing the same watch.

Having found itself with an icon, famously designed by the late Gérald Genta, Audemars Piguet developed the Royal Oak into a family of watches, including calendars and chronographs and tourbillons, with cases in gold and other precious metals. Royal Oaks now grace the wrists of Formula One heroes, silver-screen legends, and, most recently, golfing phenomenon Rory McIlroy. Arnold Schwarzenegger, a (literally) huge fan of the watch, has featured it in a handful of his movies, resulting in special editions for "End of Days" and "Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines."

None would deny that Audemars Piguet opened the floodgates, and not just for dress/sport watches, but also for oversized timepieces, regardless of the wearer's gender.

The two watches that triggered the now-irreversible taste for huge watches back in the early-to-mid-1990s were IWC's Portuguese, the reissue of a 1930s model based on a pocket watch as a dress watch, and the revival of Panerai, a purely military diving watch. They were, however, defined by specific, immutable roles. Wearing either out of context—as many do—is no longer considered a faux pas.

ENLARGE

IWC Schaffhausen's Portuguese model.
Photopress/IWC

Defining a true "sports watch" is as simple as explaining that they tell the time like any watch, only they are able to do it in extreme conditions. It is an indisputable example of form following function. For dress watches, it is the opposite. They need to exude suavity, which accounts for the appearance of so many "ultra-thins," with slim cases that won't withstand the rigors of sport.

Combining the two enabled owners to survive society's casual and formal dress codes with a single watch.

Less than five years after the Royal Oak appeared, Genta supplied a design to Audemars Piguet's rival watch house, Patek Philippe. It, too, wanted a timepiece that its clients could wear while sky-diving, swimming, playing golf or tennis, hang-gliding or anything else they might care to pursue, without having to take it off for dinner.

Patek Philippe's response was the sublime Nautilus, which begat a simpler model called the Aquanaut. Genta again produced a robust design that suggested the impermeability of a ship's porthole, while exhibiting constructional details worthy of fine jewelry. It evolved over the decades beyond its stainless-steel, time-only-display origins into a family of watches in various metals and hosting the most extreme of complications. It may seem like missing the original point, but is it any different from a Range Rover, with its roots in a vehicle designed to cross deserts or mountains, sporting a leather interior, air-conditioning and chrome wheels?

As with so many things discovered belatedly, the earliest examples of the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak and Patek Philippe Nautilus, the original 1970s debut models, now appear in auctions with elevated prices due to scarcity. Fetching frightening sums is the large version of the Nautilus, affectionately referred to as the "Jumbo," currently the watch du jour, especially for Italian enthusiasts. Recent auction results in the U.K. have turned up 1970s-80s Jumbos for £8,000-£10,000 ($12,500-$15,500/€9,300-€11,600), if one is brave enough to compete, but vintage watch specialists online ask $20,000-$35,000 (€14,900-€26,000) for the earliest examples. Oddly, some steel versions fetch more than their gold or steel-and-gold counterparts.

Why the rarity? It wasn't just the idea of paying gold-watch prices for stainless-steel models that hampered the early adoption of the Royal Oak and the Nautilus.

Forty years ago, oversized watches weren't merely rare, they were considered freakish. Both have benefited, retroactively, from the change in tastes toward huge timepieces.

Patek Philippe wisely reintroduced the Nautilus line in 2005, a year ahead of the watch's 30th anniversary. Second time around, the reception was ecstatic. As with the Royal Oak family, the Nautilus range includes models with moon phase, calendar and power reserve, as well as the current Nautilus 5980/1 featuring the company's new in-house chronograph movement. The subject of a waiting list, the 5980/1 changes hands at a premium, as much as £6,000 (€7,000) over the £34,460 (approx. €40,000) retail price.

‘Forty years ago, oversized watches weren't merely rare, they were considered freakish.’

Patek Philippe and Audemars Piguet don't have the market entirely to themselves. The third member of the classic triumvirate, their senior sparring partner Vacheron Constantin, produces the handsome Overseas, available in time-only models, world travelers or chronographs, with bracelets or straps. This would be the watch to wear if you believe that discretion is a virtue without parallel.

Hublot, which gave the world the now de rigueur rubber strap, came back from the brink with the brilliantly conceived Big Bang series, unmistakably the bastard child of the Royal Oak, only edgier and probably aimed at wearers who would choose a Lamborghini over a Bentley, or a Black Russian over a glass of Masseto. Jean-Claude Biver, Hublot's former CEO, is one of the watch kingdom's most inventive souls, and the Big Bang is his palette.

Probably the hottest sport/dress watch brand at present, the Big Bang was enhanced by the introduction of colorful, gem-clad series called Tutti Frutti, specifically for its distaff clients. In 2012, and renewed for 2013, there is a tie-in with Ferrari, resulting in suitably attired models with automotive design details and the status of being officially sanctioned.

Rolex, however, gets the last laugh, as it is the official timekeeper for the whole of Formula One, which must rankle with all of the brands—such as Hublot and Richard Mille—which have their own deals with teams or individual drivers.

ENLARGE

The Hermès Dressage, elegant and born out of the brand's equestrian heritage.
Dominic James for The Wall Street Journal

It's fitting, too, that another watch brand with a century's experience in sport watches, for which the term "thoroughbred" is no conceit, offers elegant timepieces able to suit more than one role. Hermès, with equestrian DNA, offers its own classic model, the aptly named Dressage, as well as the Clipper, with nautical overtones.

Other houses support other sports: Piaget has its Polo; TAG Heuer, the Golf Watch; Rolex, the Yacht-Master; and IWC, the Aquatimer; while Ralph Lauren—ever tasteful—chooses not to discriminate: the model range it designed to keep company in either milieu is called, simply, the Sporting Collection. The latest in the family?

The Safari Chronometer, complete with "aged black" metal finish and canvas strap, with a military look provided by its cream numbers on a black background. It suits perfectly the sort of chap who dresses like Allan Quatermain regardless of the occasion.

ENLARGE

The Ralph Lauren Safari Chronometer.
Dominic James for The Wall Street Journal

In these egalitarian times, such distinctions might seem pedantic—even with the generosity of spirit demonstrated by watches with dual personalities. But should confusion still reign, note that nobody was ever thrown out of a restaurant or sports bar, casino or golf clubhouse, for wearing a classic watch of either genre. Patek Philippe's Calatrava? The David Niven of watches. The Rolex Explorer II? Clark Gable in stainless steel. A cynic might argue that the rest are mere Wayne Rooneys.

Corrections & Amplifications

Between the time of print of this article in the Spring 2013 Watches & Jewelry special supplement in the Europe and Asia editions of The Wall Street Journal, Rory McIlroy has become an ambassador for Omega Watches and no longer has an association with Audemars Piguet.

This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. Distribution and use of this material are governed by our Subscriber Agreement and by copyright law. For non-personal use or to order multiple copies, please contact Dow Jones Reprints at 1-800-843-0008 or visit www.djreprints.com.